| Summary: | This study explored the groundwater chemistry, groundwater suitability, and potential human health risks in the Jhenaidah district, Bangladesh. A total of 54 groundwater samples were collected from the study area, and a set of multivariate approaches were applied to achieve the study objectives. Study results show the concentration of HCO3−, Ca2+, As, Fe, and Mn exceeded Bangladesh drinking quality guidelines in 100, 98, 44, 28, and 63% samples, respectively. The groundwater quality index shows only 15% of samples are suitable for drinking purposes, whereas various irrigation water indices like EC, TH, %Na, SAR, PI, and MH show that these sources of water are suitable for irrigation. In the study area, groundwater is mainly Ca2+–Mg2+–HCO3− types, and rock–water interactions are dominating the mineralization process. The sequential order of major cations and major anions are Ca2+ > Mg2+ > Na+ > K+, and Cl− > HCO3− > SO42−, respectively. Multivariate analyses show that both geogenic and manmade sources regulate the groundwater quality. Arc-GIS inverse weighted method has been utilized to spatial interpolate the basic parameters. For the human health aspect, both adults and children have high carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks.
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